While Hurricane Sandy was raging in the Eastern Seaboard I decided to prepare one my favorite desserts, Maja Blanca, so we can have something to calm as down while watching the devastating news on TV. Although we were not affected, our area was saturated with heavy rainfall and gusts of wind. Hence, I came out with this name for my new recipe.
While I mentioned that Maja Blanca is one of my favorite desserts, this was my first time to do this. My guide for doing this was the cook book, "Signature Dishes of the Philippines" by my favorite Filipino chef, Sony Robles Florendo, whom I had the chance to meet last Sept. 23, 2012 in her book signing event in Vienna Virginia, USA. My recipe is a variation from hers, as her original recipe doesn't have corn kernels and Angel Flake sweetened coconut, which was manufactured by Franklin Baker Company of the Philippines in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines where I used to work as Electrical Project Engineer prior to migrating to the US in the late eighties.
Ingredients:
1 can 13.5 oz (400 ml) coconut milk
1/4 cup white sugar
6 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup Baker's Angel Flake sweetened coconut
Cooking Directions:
- Mix 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch in a bowl, and stir until smooth.
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low to medium heat depending upon your cooking range.
- Mix well and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, add the corn kernels, and then stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring quickly to avoid lumps as it becomes very thick.
- Bring the mixture back to a boil, and simmer until fully thickened and smooth, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the Maja Blanca into an appropriate size dish, and set aside to cool until firm, about 2 hours or if you prefer you can leave it refrigerated overnight.
- Place the Angel flakes in a dry skillet over medium heat, and stir to toast. Watch them carefully so they don't burn.
- Put the toasted coconut flakes into a bowl, let cool, and sprinkle over the pudding before serving.
Number of servings: 6 - 8
